Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton, who plans to run for Orange County executive next year, let loose last week about what he described as a web of unsavory connections involving County Executive Ed Diana, county Republican Chairman William DeProspo and the contractor Diana hired to run the county nursing home 10 years ago.

Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton, who plans to run for Orange County executive next year, let loose last week about what he described as a web of unsavory connections involving County Executive Ed Diana, county Republican Chairman William DeProspo and the contractor Diana hired to run the county nursing home 10 years ago.

The impetus was an article in a weekly newspaper examining, among other things, a now-infamous meeting transcript from 2006 in which DeProspo and several associates spoke with Essex County officials about buying their county's nursing home.

One associate owned Orange Administrative Services, the company being paid $700,000 a year to run Orange County's Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation.

Sweeton, a fellow Republican, fired off a statement Thursday urging lawmakers to request an investigation by the state attorney general's office. "If the Legislature does not begin to separate itself totally from the questionable actions of Diana, DeProspo and others, they run the risk of being tarred with the same brush," he said.

In his pitch to Essex officials, DeProspo repeatedly cast himself as being involved with Orange Administrative Services and the operation of Valley View. Though he and the company owner, John Chobor, denied any business ties, no explanation for their upstate trip has even been given.

Diana, DeProspo and Chobor all refused to testify under oath before a legislative committee that recently investigated Valley View's finances and management.

Chris McKenna

Jillian Dolce, a Minisink ninth-grader, is hosting her third annual Walking Toward a Cure fundraiser Saturday in Shannen Park on Route 284 in Slate Hill.

Dolce's nonprofit, One Step at a Time, has raised more than $35,000. Donations can be sent to One Step At A Time, P.O. Box 531, Slate Hill 10973, or visit: www.onestepatatime.biz. Walk registration starts at 10 a.m.; the event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donation is $10 for adults, $5 for kids. Participants can walk as much or as little as they want.

Nathan Brown

SUNY Orange broke ground Tuesday on its new Center for Science and Engineering.

"If young people locally are going to be innovators in the future, they need to start in the local schools," said state Sen. John Bonacic, R-C, Mount Hope, at the ceremony. He and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, D-C, Forestburgh, were instrumental in getting nearly $20 million in state money for the project.

"They don't need to start in the Ivy League, or Stanford," said Bonacic. "They need to start in the community college, where we have modern technology that inspires students to be innovators."

The new building is on the site of the former Sarah Wells building and is expected to be done in summer 2014.

It's part of the larger campus capital project that includes the new Morrison Family Lab School, and the parking garage now being built.

Nathan Brown

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.